• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mike Barrett

State Senator | Democrat | 3rd Middlesex District MA

  • Home
  • News
  • About Mike
  • Mike’s Record
  • Donate!
  • Volunteer!
  • Contact

About Mike

Mike and Family
Mike, wife Nancy and daughters Lily and Rivka

Mike Barrett is State Senator for eight Massachusetts communities — Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln, Waltham, Weston, and a large part of Lexington.

Mike serves as Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. The committee’s jurisdiction covers everything from cell phones to alternative energy to public utility reform to carbon pricing.

He previously served as Chair of the Senate Post-Audit and Oversight Committee, a unique body charged with overseeing implementation of all state programs run by the Governor and his appointees. Upon entering the Legislature several years ago, Mike was appointed Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, an assignment with wide responsibility for programs that help poor women, abused and neglected kids, troubled teens and people with physical and intellectual challenges. Over the course of his term, funding for the Department of Children and Families reversed course and began to climb, after years of steady and injurious decline. Mike also serves as Senate Chair of the Mass. Legislature’s Disabilities Caucus.

For 17 years before his 2012 election, Mike made his living in health care and information technology, first as CEO and General Counsel of the Visiting Nurse Associations of New England, a health care system composed of 70 home health nursing agencies, and then as a health care IT analyst for Forrester Research and Critical Mass Consulting. Prior to working in the private sector, Mike served in both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate, where he was a leader on issues ranging from gay rights to human services.

In 1990, during his first stint as State Senator, Mike wrote an Atlantic Monthly cover story in which he advocated a longer school day and year for American students. A year later, he was named one of nine commissioners on the National Education Commission on Time and Learning, created by the U.S. Congress to examine the issues raised in the Atlantic article.

In 1992 Mike drafted and saw through to enactment domestic violence legislation for Massachusetts that was precedent-setting in the United States, in that it required judges to consult a comprehensive computerized registry of offenders before they ruled on requests for restraining orders. He was also successful as lead sponsor of major environmental legislation regulating uses of toxic materials in manufacturing within the state.

Mike graduated from Harvard College and the Northeastern University School of Law. He lives in Lexington with his wife Nancy. They have twin daughters.

Portrait of Mike

News and Comments on Facebook

Cover for Senator Mike Barrett
Senator Mike Barrett

Senator Mike Barrett

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Senator Mike Barrett
2 weeks ago
Senator Mike Barrett

Climate policymaking comes out ahead when the two branches of the MA Legislature are equally balanced. But if the House view described in this Commonwealth article prevails, and simple majority rule replaces the delicate power-sharing embedded in the process up to now, the "joint committees" of the Legislature lose their jointness. The best recourse then: Splitting into separate but parallel Senate and House Committees. Climate policy needn't suffer, so long as each branch acknowledges the equality of the other. (So why not do this upfront, by agreeing to follow the current parliamentary rules -- obscure but of crucial importance -- that have ensured parity until now?) ... See MoreSee Less

Call Now

House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

commonwealthmagazine.org

HOUSE LEADERS appear to be pushing majority rule in most of the Legislature’s joint committees, bu...
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
Senator Mike Barrett
2 weeks ago
Senator Mike Barrett

MassPort wants to be seen it as green. This proposal is its moment of truth. ... See MoreSee Less

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution - The Boston Globe

www.bostonglobe.com

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to ...
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
Load more

Mike’s Twitter Feed

Senator Mike Barrett Follow 3,222 4,205

State Senator for Bedford Carlisle Chelmsford Concord Lincoln Waltham Weston and a large part of Lexington. Senate Chair of the Committee on Energy.

senatorbarrett
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660294098660519940

Thanks, Larry. This proposal is the test of MassPort's avowed commitment to go green. If the jets stay dirty, greening the hangar buildings will be little more than greenwashing.

Larry Chretien @LarryChretien

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution - The Boston Globe https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/

Reply on Twitter 1660294098660519940 Retweet on Twitter 1660294098660519940 0 Like on Twitter 1660294098660519940 2 Twitter 1660294098660519940
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660266198599073792

MassPort wants to go green? It starts by greening the jets. Compared to the jets, greening the hangars is a meaningless piffle. "Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution" https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/?event=event25 via… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660266198599073792

Image for twitter card

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate...

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to the wealthy an...

www.bostonglobe.com

Reply on Twitter 1660266198599073792 Retweet on Twitter 1660266198599073792 11 Like on Twitter 1660266198599073792 16 Twitter 1660266198599073792
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660265067986690048

With ominous implications for climate policy, this risks upsetting the delicate balance of power between the branches: House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

Image for twitter card

House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

HOUSE LEADERS appear to be pushing majority rule in most of the Legislature’s joint committees, but the effort h...

commonwealthmagazine.org

Reply on Twitter 1660265067986690048 Retweet on Twitter 1660265067986690048 3 Like on Twitter 1660265067986690048 7 Twitter 1660265067986690048
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660259311451340801

We're green! says MassPort. This proposal is its moment of truth. David Abel and Boston Globe, thank you.

Sabrina Shankman @shankman

Must read from @davabel on plans to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom and concerns that it will cause a surge in climate pollution https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/?event=event25 via @BostonGlobe

Reply on Twitter 1660259311451340801 Retweet on Twitter 1660259311451340801 1 Like on Twitter 1660259311451340801 5 Twitter 1660259311451340801
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660258634184511488

MassPort wants to be seen as green. This proposal is its moment of truth: Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution

Image for twitter card

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate...

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to the wealthy an...

www.bostonglobe.com

Reply on Twitter 1660258634184511488 Retweet on Twitter 1660258634184511488 3 Like on Twitter 1660258634184511488 5 Twitter 1660258634184511488
Load More

Mike Barrett

State Senator | Democrat | 3rd Middlesex District MA

Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln,
Waltham, Weston, and a large part of Lexington

Donate!

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · Optimal Theme Barrett on Genesis Framework · Website design, customization and maintenance by ASK Design

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}